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August gifted us a wonderful 10 days away from work. It was time with family and with my husband and it also gave me some much needed headspace. We succeeded in making a few meals without a recipe whilst on holiday and will hopefully do more of that once we have our new kitchen, which will have a dishwasher!

The kitchen will probably monopolise much of September and that’s ok; we’ve been waiting for it long enough! But life goes on around that and I hope September will continue to make room for time to ponder and be still.

>Reflections<

Stargaze and re-visit my 2015 year aims. I think sitting on a cabin, by a fire, watching the sunset, listening to owls and watching the stars counts 🙂 so good to see some stars but still looking forward to a really dark night’s sky without any light pollution again one day. Also re-visited my 2015 year aims and I’m pretty much on track… with a few things still to work on!

Take time off! Done. Much needed. Would love more of it. Who wouldn’t?

Go on Facebook less. Without FB on my phone, I go on it far less. Went for over a week without so much as a glance and didn’t miss it at all!

Go on more post-dinner walks. Definitely did this on holiday but could still do more of it. Especially as Autumn is arriving, that fresh Autumn air is so great in the early evening!

Sort out my wardrobe. Getting there on this too. Bought lots of new trousers which may not seem like much but for someone who is almost 6ft2, getting trousers that fit is a great way to start the re-planning of a wardrobe! Especially a work wardrobe. Will keep at this one slowly. Aware that I don’t want to spend lots of money all in one go!

Pamper myself. Massage and pedicure most definitely achieved. Not quite on the haircut but I’ll book that soon…

>Hopes<

September officially marks the start of my favourite season so I’d like to make the most of that and all that it brings. That kind of goes without saying, so there are also a few specific things I hope for September.

Don’t get too frustrated while the new kitchen is installed. A new kitchen is likely to bring with it frustrations: unexpected costs, strangers in our home, dust everywhere, not much space for quiet, unplanned meals… I’d like not to let it get to me. I’d prefer to look at it from the point of view that we are incredible blessed to be able to afford a brand new kitchen and look forward to using it in the near future.

Spend less money. August was an expensive month what with the holiday and buying new clothes and with a huge amount of money flying out of our account and into a new kitchen this coming month, I’d like to go back to a little restraint in my spending! Besides, every time I consciously try to spend less, I always end up valuing the little things so much more.

Spend more time with family. I’m realising more and more, recently, how much I love spending time with my family. It relaxes me, it’s familiar, it’s a comforting environment away from home, it reminds me of what really matters. I’d like more of that.

Spend less time watching TV. Exclusions to this include: The Great British Bake Off and Strictly. We don’t actually watch much other live TV but we do spend a lot of time watching box sets. Having finished all seasons of The West Wing for a second time, we’ve moved onto House. It’s amazing how many evenings get sucked into multiple episodes and I find my time and my evenings drifting by much faster than I’d like.

Plus I’d like to continue making a meal without a recipe with my hubby this month! I’m secretly looking forward to a few more rainy evenings and an excuse to be an introvert and stay in my cosy home. I love the summer sunshine but I can’t help but love it when the Autumn air brings with it time and expectation.

August gave this introvert a wonderful gift – time. We had time away from work, away from the small frustrations that build in everyday life and away from the distractions that cloud our perspective. We had time with family, with friends and with each other. That time reminded me how much I need to escape on a regular basis, it rekindled in me a desire to prioritise and balance flexibility, people and quiet time, it challenged me to focus on rebuilding my patience, it refocused my perspective and it refreshed me to pursue the things that I realised were still important to me.

Perspective is a curious beast. It is so easy to distort and takes conscious effort to regain. It demands distance from a situation in order that it can clear its vision and re-evaluate. Thankfully, that is just what this month allowed me to do. The smaller frustrations that begin to consume daily life seem trivial when set against a broader view and you begin to wonder whether you’ve really forgotten how to let inconsequential matters slide off your back. The stubbornness in my nature is quick to focus on trivial details that I needlessly grant permission to require all of my attention. I reward such matters with a status of importance, which in turn allows anger and impatience to rise within me. Away from the familiarity of routine, it seems absurd that I gave such small things such great value and bizarre that those areas were where I willingly chose to place my energy. Gaining perspective and rebalancing energy is a huge blessing when small things have become such unnecessary burdens.

Needless to say, we had a great time on holiday. We had a few days of glorious sunshine and curled up indoors when the mist closed in. We spent a weekend with good friends and their little one year old and I got to pamper both my friend and myself which was a real treat. We celebrated me turning another year older, saw an impressive airshow and throughout the month I got to spend some one on one time with my Daddy, my sister and some of my best friends, over breakfast, shopping, cinema and bowling.

All in all, August was just what my soul needed and for that I’m really very thankful.

When I sat down to write this, I only planned to reflect on the goals I set for July. August was already looking busy and I wasn’t sure there were things I wanted to achieve. As I thought about it though, ideas crept through and I realised there are plenty of things I want to do or change in August! Why that surprises me, as a person who loves to set goals and try to improve how I live in the moment and be present in the present, I don’t know, but it did.

If I start with the 6 month ambition: creating a new meal without a recipe every month – we actually did this! Summer is particularly conducive to this aim as almost every meal is a guess as to how it will turn out because we’re just throwing salads together with whatever we have in the fridge. It was fun though – every salad turned out differently! Will probably have to be more intentional about doing this in August but it seems like a fun date night activity so I hope we’ll get a chance to continue this aim this month!

>Reflections<

Stargaze. Not this month, but we’ve put in place ways of doing this in August!! Our summer staycation accommodation has a skylight in the roof above the bed so you can watch the stars as you go to sleep. It’s also in the middle of nowhere so I’m hoping for some great stargazing!

Read the Bible in German more. ‘More’ seemed so vague when I wrote this a few weeks ago but ‘more’ is definitely what I have achieved. By putting my German Bible next to my bed, I’ve read it almost every night this month and it’s been great not only for keeping my mind in German mode but also for the words to come back to life, reading them in a different language and reminding me of what their true meaning and purpose is.

Re-visit my 2015 year aims. Haven’t actually managed this properly yet. I’ll put it on my August aims and hope I get the chance to do this while we’re on holiday and I actually find time to think!

Go to the cinema twice. Jurassic World and Theory of Everything! The latter we even saw at an outdoor cinema which was especially fun. The Theory of Everything is an absolutely superb movie – I would thoroughly recommend it! Hoping this continues next month as we now have 2 for 1 cinema deals and I really want to see Inside Out!

Go to a National Trust site. We managed this without trying in the end by going to Rhossili – voted the best beach in Britain! It is absolutely huge when the tide is out and we had such a wonderful afternoon there with friends.

>Hopes<

Stargaze and re-visit my 2015 year aims. Carrying these over from July…

Take time off! We’ve booked just over a week off work over my birthday to take some much needed time away. It’ll be my first ever staycation and I’m actually really looking forward to it!

Go on Facebook less. Facebook is less of an addiction and more of a habit. My fingers automatically open the app on my phone and I barely read what is in front of me before closing it again. All that it is serving to do at the moment is distract me and fill my mind with other people’s opinions and lives, drawing me away from my own. It is cluttering my mind and August is going to be all about clearing my mind, so I can do with less of the social media influence!

Go on more post-dinner walks. The evenings are already starting to get shorter and my favourite time of day in the summer is dusk so I want to cherish it while it’s still here!

Sort out my wardrobe. Whether that’s buying new clothes, getting rid of existing clothes or starting to save some money so that I can really fill my wardrobe only with clothes that fit me well, something needs to change so that I am more comfortable when I get dressed in the morning!

Pamper myself. I hope August will give me space to clear my thoughts and, as it’s also my birthday month, I figured I may as well give my body some TLC as well. I hope a massage, pedicure and haircut might be on the cards…